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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Daily Kos: What not being covered by FMLA now means for us

Daily Kos: What not being covered by FMLA now means for us:


What not being covered by FMLA now means for us

As many know, I have been on leave from the school in which I had been teaching since we found out about my wife's cancer.   I had been prepared to return as soon as Wednesday, but knowing that I would periodically have to take time off - for example, when she begins chemo next Wednesday.
I had informed the school that I would not be returning for next year.  It is not a great fit for me, even though they were quite pleased as what I had done with the students.
In order to be eligible for rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, one must have worked worked for the employer for at least 12 months and in the 12 months immediately previous to applying for FMLA leave have worked at least 1250 hours.  Since I went under contract after Thanksgiving, I had no rights under the law.  Were I planning to return next year, perhaps they would have made a different decision, perhaps not.
I would not have been paid for any additional time off I took, but I could have earned money to help cover our additional expenses.  We are not sure what will happen next financially, but we will work our way through it.
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